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Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 56 16 September 1997 In this issue (1) IN XINJIANG, CHINA'S CONSOLIDATION ISN'T SOLID Christian Science Monitor, 8/27/97 By William D. Shingleton (2) THE 15TH PARTY CONGRESS 'POSITIVE SIGNALS' ON TIBET PROMPT HOPE South China Morning Post, 9/16/97 P. Seidlitz and F. Mezzetti in Prague (3) U-S / CENTRAL ASIA EXERCISES Voice of America, 9/15/97 By Rebecca Mcmenamin (4) RISING FEARS OVER FLAGGING US POWER Reuter, 9/16/97 (5) ANTI-NUCLEAR FORUM OPENS IN TASHKENT RFE/RL Newsline, No. 118, 9/16/97 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (1) IN XINJIANG, CHINA'S CONSOLIDATION ISN'T SOLID Christian Science Monitor, 8/27/97 By William D. Shingleton 'The far western 'autonomous region' chafes under political repression and economic neglect' A recent surge in anti-Chinese violence and the execution of nine dissidents mark the latest chapter in the eight-year revolt in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. The rebellion, partially funded by Muslim extremists such as Afghanistan's Taliban and egged on by heavy-handed Chinese policies, has forced Beijing to deploy over 200,000 troops. Xinjiang Uighur borders the Muslim underbelly of the former Soviet Union. Chinese control, dating most recently from 1949, has been intermittent throughout the last two millennia. Xinjiang's religion (Islam) and ethnicity (Uighur, Kazak and Kyrgyz) are distinct from the rest of China. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) was able to take Xinjiang in 1949 thanks to an agreement signed between the breakaway region and Mao Zedong. To prevent a bloody quagmire for the PLA, the people of Xinjiang were initially guaranteed autonomy. Once the Communists consolidated their hold on the rest of China, however, they had a free hand to spread the revolution to Xinjiang. In its attempts to assimilate the Uighurs, Beijing repressed freedom of religion, assembly, and speech more harshly than in the rest of China. The Chinese have engaged in a policy of ethnic cleansing in Xinjiang. In 1942, ethnic Uighurs constituted 78 percent of the region's population; today that has fallen to 48 percent. The massive population shift is the result of repressive Chinese policies. First, a purge of nationalistic leaders led to hundreds of thousands of Uighur deaths, and, amazingly the migration of 20,000 Uighurs to the Soviet Union because of the greater freedom there. Moreover, there have been mass sterilizations of Uighur women as part of population control efforts. Finally, the Chinese government moved Han Chinese into Xinjiang in an attempt to water-down the ethnic mix and theoretically Uighur nationalism. The economic situation in Xinjiang stirs further tension. In Beijing's attempt to create economic growth in the coastal Han Chinese regions, it has ignored infrastructure improvements critical to improving Xinjiang's economy. On top of that, the radiation spread over Xinjiang as a result of the 45 nuclear explosions at Lop Nor testing facility has resulted in an estimated 210,000 deaths - a situation that hardly attracts foreign investment. Combined with the lack of economic development in Xinjiang, China's ethnic policy fires resentment among the Uighurs. Since the vast majority of top-level jobs go to Han Chinese, who often don't bother to learn the local language, most ethnic Uighurs are shut out of the political system and become violent in protest. Instead of being the 'big family of unity and progress' portrayed by the Chinese press, Xinjiang has been recently rocked by bus bombings in the capital of Urumchi. In the same way that the focus on Shanghai's development could hinder the development of Hong Kong, China's focus on development of Han Chinese areas has hindered the development of Xinjiang Uighur. Moreover, those Hong Kong citizens with any English blood can expect to face discrimination at the hands of the Han Chinese, just like the Uighurs do. Xinjiang, however, is also an example of how international pressure can change Chinese domestic policy. Indeed, the economic situation in Xinjiang has improved as a result of Kazakstan's intelligent use of pressure and it's support for Uighur nationalism. If the United States can maintain a properly nuanced policy, it can have a similar impact. To deal effectively with Xinjiang, the US must step up its intelligence gathering among Uighur nationalists. Failure to do so risks the kind of disarray that marked US policy toward the former Soviet Republics in 1991-1992. With a greater understanding of the actors and forces involved, the US has a chance of dealing more coherently with any future splintering of China. At any rate, it is always better to have more information than less. William D. Shingleton is a senior researcher, Central Asian/CIS Affairs, at the National Defense Council Foundation in Alexandria, Va. (2) THE 15TH PARTY CONGRESS 'POSITIVE SIGNALS' ON TIBET PROMPT HOPE South China Morning Post, 9/16/97 P. Seidlitz and F. Mezzetti in Prague The Dalai Lama hopes the congress will strengthen not only the Chinese leadership, but also reforms. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, speaking at the summer residence of Czech President Vaclav Havel, said "positive signals" had been received recently, indicating that China was looking for a solution to the Tibet question. "Since the reforms launched by Deng Xiaoping , China has changed not only economically but mentally. Pursuing them further will only improve the attitudes of Chinese people and their leaders towards Tibet." The Dalai Lama is in Prague to attend Forum 2,000, a gathering of Nobel Peace Prize winners. He said he saw sense in President Jiang Zemin's "stability and unity" slogan. "When Deng Xiaoping died in February I prayed for him and now I pray for Jiang Zemin that the congress will strengthen stability and unity in China. Destabilisation in China would not be good for Tibet," he said. "A successful and self-confident leadership can be flexible, a leadership which has to face dramatic domestic problems can only adopt a harsh stance." The Dalai Lama rejected claims that he is trying to split China and achieve independence for Tibet. "We are not seeking total independence for our country, only a degree of autonomy. I know perfectly well that full Tibetan independence is unacceptable to China, and would not even be good for Tibet," he said. "Contacts were frozen in the aftermath of the Tiananmen events but in recent years we have received positive signals. I am ready to go to Beijing tomorrow to meet Jiang," he said. (3) U-S / CENTRAL ASIA EXERCISES Voice of America, 9/15/97 By Rebecca Mcmenamin US paratroopers have kicked off a week of unprecedented military exercises in Central Asia with forces from former Soviet republics and Turkey. VOA's Rebecca Mcmenamin reports from the Pentagon that the peacekeeping maneuvers come amid increasing US interest in an area rich in natural resources. The exercises got underway with dramatic parachute jumps by US paratroopers and forces from a new Central Asian Battalion made up of troops from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. US army sergeant Thomas Clementson, speaking from the remote Kazakh training site, notes the (parachute) jumps were made after an 18-hour, non-stop flight from the United States. "Paratroopers from the 82nd airborne division with a contingent of soldiers from the Centrasbat (Central Asian Battalion) left Pope air force base on C-17 globemaster aircraft. They traveled just under eight-thousand miles, halfway across the globe, and dropped paratroopers and heavy equipment." This is the longest airborne operation of its kind ever conducted by American troops. US officials say the success of the mission proves that American forces can be deployed anywhere in the world from their home bases -- something the Pentagon believes could be critical as more and more foreign bases are closed. A total of nearly 14-hundred troops are taking part in the peacekeeping exercises, including forces from Russia, Turkey, Latvia and Georgia. But it was the Central Asian Battalion that organized the maneuvers. Sergeant Clementson says the three former Soviet republics want to demonstrate their independence and commitment to world security. "I think everyone here, no matter what country you're talking about, is very excited about the exercises. Centrasbat wants to be a viable piece of the international pie." US diplomats say the joint participation of the US and Russian troops reflects their common interest in stability in Central Asia. The region sits on Russia's southern flank, is rich in oil, gas and other natural resources and shares borders wtih such potential hotspots as China and Afghanistan. (4) RISING FEARS OVER FLAGGING US POWER Reuter, 9/16/97 Southeast Asian countries are worried about the ebbing tide of United States power in the region brought on by budget constraints in Washington, officials and analysts say. The next power most Southeast Asian nations will be watching out for, the analysts believe, is China. It would not be long before China became a major military, economic and political force in the area, they said. Dewi Fortuna Anwar, an expert on regional affairs at the Indonesian Academy of Sciences, said there was still "an underlying suspicion about China's intentions in the region". With a lot of unresolved territorial disputes in the region China's failure to renounce the use of force to settle disputes was a major concern to Indonesia, she said. China has claimed the entire South China Sea, sparking disputes with Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and even Brunei. Outgoing Philippine Defence Secretary Renato de Villa said that as China "unleashes its energies for its own development, we can see that it is going to be a major player in the region". "When we look down the road, we see that China will become a world power." Harry Harding, a prominent Sinologist with George Washington University, said many of the mainland's neighbours were worried. "They see that it has the growing attributes of national power, economic and military in particular. They see, too, China has territorial disputes on land and at sea with many of its neighbours." An Armed Forces of the Philippines report said several countries were "apprehensive of the security posture a superpower China may adopt", especially with its military modernisation fuelled by a robust economy. "There is the perception that China intends to make Southeast Asia ist sphere of influence, especially with its declaration of sovereignty over the South China Sea," the study said. Beijing scoffs at such claims: "These are wild allegations by some critics to undermine the progress which China has made. They have no basis," premier Li Peng said. The question is whether an expanded Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of nine widely-divergent countries can serve as a counterbalance to China. Some doubt it, saying militarily, members tend to go their separate ways. But others feel ASEAN must find a way to deal with a resurgent China in the 21st century. (5) ANTI-NUCLEAR FORUM OPENS IN TASHKENT RFE/RL Newsline, No. 118, 9/16/97 A conference whose aim is to officially declare Central Asia a nuclear-free zone opened in the Uzbek capital on 15 September, Interfax and ITAR-TASS reported. Representatives from more than 60 countries and organizations are attending the meeting. Uzbek President Islam Karimov said that declaring Central Asia a nuclear free zone would help to "ensure the security and peace of the people who live here [as well as] the prosperity of the region." Karimov pointed out that the people of Central Asia still feel the effects of testing carried out in the 1950s and the 1960s in northern Kazakhstan and more recently in western China. He also said there are countries in the region that are trying to acquire the technology to make their own nuclear weapons. He urged that a control mechanism be developed to "avert the spread of nuclear weapons." Prepared by: Abdulrakhim Aitbayev (rakhim@lochbrandy.mines.edu) WUNN newsletter index*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= The World Uyghur Network News electronic newsletter is produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center (ETIC) in cooperation with the Taklamakan Uighur Human Rights Association (USA), and is devoted to the current political, cultural and economic developments in Eastern Turkistan and to the Uyghur people related issues. Eastern Turkistan (Sherqiy Turkistan in Uyghur) is a name used by the indigenous people of the region for their motherland located in what is at present the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic China. The World Uyghur Network News brings information on situation in Eastern Turkistan from the Uyghur and other sources to the attention of the international community. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= EASTERN TURKISTAN INFORMATION CENTER |